Carolina Panthers: 7-round 2016 NFL mock draft

The Panthers’ first round pick is actually one of the most intriguing selections of the entire round. There are obvious areas where Carolina might look to add depth or talent in regards to their offensive line and areas on defense. However, the departure of Josh Norman obviously complicates things in a major way as they now have big, big shoes to fill on the outside as the anchor of their zone-coverage schemes in the secondary. The question, of course, is whether they’d do that in the first round or not.

For this version of an NFL mock draft, I say that’s exactly what the Panthers do. Though they haven’t been a team that has always placed a ton of value on the cornerback position (as shown by their reluctance and ultimate declining to pay Norman), taking a big-time prospect in the first round given their current situation seems too logical. As such, I’d look for them to be targeting Mackensie Alexander out of Clemson.

Alexander is in the mix of a crop of late first round cornerbacks along with Eli Apple out of Ohio State and William Jackson III out of Houston. However, Alexander is by far the best fit for the Panthers. He has fantastic man-cover skills but also has the tracking ability to play highly effective defense in a zone scheme. Moreover, he’s received several comparisons to Norman from his play in college, which makes it all the more logical for the Panthers to target him to replace Norman.

There’s a chance that Alexander is off the board when Carolina is making their pick, in which case they’d settle for Apple or Jackson. But Alexander is the pick if he’s there, without debate.

Next: Round 2